LA Good Questions: Printed Fabrics On Tufted Sofas?

AT:LA reader PhillyLass wrote in with a question for all you readers out there about tufted sofas: Hi AT:LA! I love, love, love the look of tufted sofas, but I'm wondering if I can get away with a printed fabric or if I have to stick to a solid?

PhillyLass, it all depends upon the print. My mom has a tufted sofa with a print design and it looks a bit like floral vomit. She even dislikes it now and calls it "bad old fashioned" (my mom has strangely turned into a modernist in just the last few years). But with a simple design pattern, we think a print could work; an example is this Ralph Lauren Hither Hills Studio Tufted Sofa. Think simple, otherwise the tufting could get lost amongst the pattern.

You might also want to consider using a solid colour fabric with texture instead of going for a patterned design; think of a nicely tailored suit in tweed or herringbone. A couch, like a suit, looks its best when unencumbered with too many distracting details.